5,000 Years Later, Tattoos' Effects Are Still Unknown

Long-term effects of tattoos may be cancer and organ toxicity.

It’s a long-standing practice and, yet, 5,000 years later, tattoos’ effects are still unknown on human health by the majority of the population. The short-term occurrences are widely varied and described by many who have decided to decorate their bodies with ink, but the long-term effects are not as easily observed.

Recently, a few choice brands of tattoo ink have been pulled from the market, due to the risk of contamination, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is concerned that the products may still be used by various tattoo artists around the world. Both customers and artists are urged to look carefully at what kind of ink they use, because the problems might be lurking inside.

Just one bad batch of tattoo ink can cause an outbreak of skin infections, and it has several times along the years. The short-term effects of rashes and itchiness are known, along with the possibility of infections ranging from mild to severe.

In fact, the FDA have uncovered unopened bottles of tattoo ink that contained Mycobacterium chelonae, that might’ve caused bacterial infection if it had been indeed used, with symptoms such as red, purple or pink blemishes scattered around the body art, along with itching and swelling. So, people who choose that particular form of self-expression should pay a visit to the doctor if symptoms occur.

However, while around 120 million people today have tattoos, there is still a worldwide ignorance when it comes to the possible long-term effects. It has become a trend, but not one with all the information laid out for viewing. Some of the possibilities, besides skin infections, can be cancer or organ toxicity due to lingering ink in the body.

Dr. Andreas Luch, senior author of the study at German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment states that “nobody is talking about the side effects of ink deposits.”. While modern tattoo inks are mostly made of organic chemicals, it is injected into living tissue, with blood vessels, nerves and cells that allow for it to be carried through the rest of the body.

Few people question that when using laser tattoo removal, where the ink even goes. It is absorbed and travels to the body, possibly leading to dangerous long-term side effects as some inks might even contain dangerous substances, such as arsenic, nickel and lead.

The general population is left in the dark where it concerned these possibly consequences of ink-based body art and, with the trend rising, all should pay attention to what they inject onto their skin, because it may not affect just the surface.

Image source: thecollectiveint.com

Bio
Latest Posts

Melissa Gansler

Melissa calls herself Poet, essayist, and naturalist. Graduated from the University of Michigan, Melissa holds a degree in Literature. Besides English, she can also speak Chinese, German, French.